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Tobacco Use in the USA |
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Parents be Aware:
Tobacco: The Smoking Gun -
October 23rd,
2007 - Report released by Columbia University's National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) led by former U.S. Health,
Education and Welfare commissioner, Joseph A. Califano Jr.
Califano says the
report was issued to make parents, teachers, and physicians aware
that the dangers of teen smoking are immediate as well as long-term.
"The message is clear," Califano says. "If your kid is
smoking, you better be alert to the much greater likelihood that he
or she also may be abusing alcohol or illegal drugs.
Smoking is clearly linked to substance abuse
and depression, and this report shows that the statistical
relationship is very powerful," he says.
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Teenage smokers between the ages of 12 and 17 are five times more
likely to drink
alcohol and nine
times more
likely to meet
the medical
criteria for
alcohol abuse or
dependence as
teens who don't
smoke.
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Teens who smoke are 13 times more likely to use marijuana than
nonsmoking
teens.
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Teens who smoke are more than twice as likely to have suffered from
symptoms of
depression over
the course of a
year.
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Children who start smoking before age 13 are three times as likely
to binge drink,
15 times as
likely to use
marijuana, and
seven times more
likely to use
other illegal
drugs such as
heroin or
cocaine.
The earlier a child begins smoking, the greater the risk, compared
to children who
never smoked.
Brain imaging studies indicate that nicotine has a more profound
effect on young
brains than on
the brains of
adults,
increasing their
vulnerability to
cigarettes and
possibly other
addictive
substances.
Studies suggest that teens may become nicotine dependent more
quickly than
adults.
The CASA report calls for greater restrictions on the advertising
and marketing of
all types of
tobacco
products.
Califano tells WebMD that tobacco companies have found ways around
existing
restrictions and
are still
actively
marketing their
products to
children.
More
information:
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In the USA: |
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Packs of cigarettes consumed by kids each year:
800 million!
(Over
$2.0 billion) |
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A
third of underage experimentation with smoking is
attributable
to tobacco company advertising and promotion! |
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Annual
health care expenditures solely from secondhand smoke exposure:
$4.98 billion!
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